Infiniti Selects Engineering Academy Winners

HONG KONG – Infiniti has announced the winners of its global talent search initiative that will see three engineering students given the career opportunity of a lifetime with World Championship-winning Formula One team Infiniti Red Bull Racing.

After a grueling three-day world final event in England which saw 12 hopefuls from around the world competing for victory in the Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy, it was William Priest, Eric LaRoche and Jason Zide that were deemed the winners.

They were judged by a panel of senior engineering personnel from Infiniti and the race team, led by Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey, recently announced to be taking a broader role on other special Red Bull Technology projects. Along with a lucrative 12-month work placement with the team beginning in September, the winners will receive accommodation in the England, an Infiniti company car and full salary.

With the in-depth assessment process split between Infiniti’s Technical Center in Cranfield, England and Infiniti Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes, England, the final candidates, selected from more than 1,500 entrants across 100 top engineering universities worldwide, faced a series of challenges over three days relating to road car and racing car engineering.

These included practical design tasks, written exams, intense interviews and complex group exercises to test their technical ability, teamwork skills and performance under pressure. In one task they even got a first-hand insight into the role of a race engineer by working alongside four-time World Champion and Infinti’s Director of Performance, Sebastian Vettel, in the team’s simulator.

“William, Eric and Jason impressed us all throughout the process, especially given the stiff competition they had from the other candidates,” said Andreas Sigl, global director, Infiniti Formula One. “They demonstrated not just a natural aptitude for engineering and an excellent work ethic, but also a real understanding of the benefits Formula One can bring a road car company like Infiniti and the potential for even greater technical crossover in the future. We’re delighted to have given them the opportunity to realize their dream and will be working closely with them as they settle into their new role.”

“It’s an incredible achievement for the winners to have made it through this process and I was extremely impressed with the caliber of all 12 of the finalists,” Newey said. “It’s a credit to Infiniti for providing this unique platform to find the very best up-and-coming engineers looking to break into the ultra-competitive world of Formula One. For the winners though, the work really begins now, and we look forward to bringing them into the team in September.”

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